Mandala

Mandala is Mariko Takayasu’s life project. She has developed a new version for IN TRANSIT 05, where she celebrates her European stage première. Takayasu was brought up in the strict atmosphere of a Samurai family. She then spent ten years in the USA. There she worked as a psychotherapist and studied dance at the schools of Alvin Ailey and Martha Graham. In Mandala, she translates the Kendo art of fencing and the basic principles of Samurai body training into a contemporary language of movement.

Mariko Takayasu showed the early stages of her Mandala project in temples, galleries and private rooms. Her works reflect both her origins and her dramatic experiences with her body. Takayasu sees dance not only as concentrated movement, but also as a transformatory power: “I want to accept death without any fear. In my dance I want to show the public the body’s memory, which determines life in the present, so that I can communicate with the audience.”

Choreography and dance: Mariko Takayasu

Light design: Hideaki Matuoka

Costumes: Sachiko Takayasu

Artistic assistant: William Gambell